Wonderful Day

I decided to forgo We Are the World Wednesday this week for two reasons: (1) I have nothing prepared.  I was going to write on my friend Tim, who has selflessly decided to become a firefighter/American Hero, but I have not gotten the details on his program yet.  Keep a watch out for Tim's story in coming weeks;  (2) I wanted to share my WONDERFUL day with you all today!  I love great days!

• 12:07 am: Received AMAZING news that I'd passed Financial!! 
• 1:40 am: Went to sleep after watching two good episodes of Sex and the City
• 9:20 am: Ordered a chicken biscuit at Chick Fil A, along with a medium coffee and large iced tea.  Not only did they actually get my order right this time (a first!), they also "accidentally" poured me a large coffee instead!  Upgrade - free of charge!  One can never have too much caffeine!  
• 10:15 am: Sam's blog post made me smile. 
• 10:30 am - 11:30 am: Long overdue catch-up call with Boss Lady.  (Yes, there's a Boss Lady, too, but I don't do much work for her anymore, so you never hear about her.  She's AWESOME though and I love her to death!  How did I get 3 bosses that are great to work for??  I'm lucky, I guess!  Now, if I didn't have to deal with charge hours or mandatory overtime, I'd have the perfect job...)  She told me that she'd go to the Soirée with me!!!  Yay!  Chocolaty goodness!!  
• 11:30 am - 2:00 pm: Hum along.  Receive many congrats from friends on my CPA exam feat.  :) 
• 2:40 pm: Go to bank to close accounts.  They actually don't give me crap! Pay off one of my credit cards.  SWEEET. 
• 3:05 pm: Subway employee (who's young and kinda cute) tells me I'm GORGEOUS.  Love it! 
• 3:30 pm: Get to the hairdresser's for an appointment.  My hairdresser is a riot and I love going to visit him!  He does a great job cutting my hair, too.  First thing he tells me when I walk in the door is how skinny I look.  This day just keeps getting better! 
• 4:20 pm: Return to office with Cookies & Cream ice cream cone and Little Debbie fruit pie (hey - I earned it!).
• 5:46 pm: Now.  Nice, quiet day since Boss Men Jr. & Sr. are in Ohio for meetings.  More than 30 people have read my blog today.  I'm going to leave at a reasonable hour and work from home.  My hair looks GREAT (thanks Michael!).  

I hope your day has been just as awesome!!

Always Look On the Bright Side of Life

As you know, I took the dreaded CPA exam yesterday.  And, yet again, I failed to finish.  Which means that, yet again, I failed.  

This is the third time I've taken this section, and the collective 10th time I've sat for a portion of this stupid exam.  I've been taking it for what feels like a lifetime. I've spent so many hours, and an insane amount of money, on perpetual failure.  All I want to do is say to hell with it and quit. But, I'm SO close now, and I've already put so much of everything I have into it...  

So, with my new super positive outlook on life, I'm trying to actually take something from yesterday's failure, other than the extreme annoyance, exhaustion, and invariable self-loathing that quickly overcame me.  

I'm reading Dr. Dan Baker's What Happy People Know.  It's loaded with psycho-babble, but it also has a lot of wisdom in it as well.  Baker discusses the components of happiness (which is far more complex than you think), and the "Happiness Traps" we all have to navigate in our lifetimes.  Second only to love comes optimism in the list of 12 happiness components.  I thought optimism was just thinking positive all the time - being Mary Sunshine and all that crap.  It is, in a way, but there's a little more to it than that.

Baker defines optimism as "realizing that the more painful the event, the more profound the lesson." (p. 20)  Well, failing the CPA exam yet again, and flushing another thousand+ dollars down the drain is definitely feeling pretty damn painful right now.  So, my job, in the spirit of optimism, is to realize that there's a big lesson in this, and then figure out what that lesson might be. 

I realized that I've already learned a couple of lessons in my fruitless attempts at certification.  Albeit a little too late, I did figure out how I should have been studying all this time.  So, I know that from now until the next test date, I need to put time in every day on my new method, and just get it done.  Also, I finally talked to the folks at the testing center.  Now that I have officially been diagnosed with ADD, I can receive "special accommodation" for the next exam, and take it either un-timed, or at least with extra time.  Either way, the study/extra time one-two punch should be just what I need to finally wrap this damn thing up.  And, I can use these lessons when I sit for the bar this summer, and maybe avoid taking that test twice a year for the rest of my days.  How's that for optimism?

Registration fees for the Financial section of the exam (3 sittings): $1,200.  Rescheduling fee: $96.  Practice test software and study guides: $150.  Wasted effort in Becker courses: $3,500.  Figuring out that there's a bright side to everything: Priceless. 

      

On Love, In Sadness

Sadness really pisses me off. Not because he makes me feel like crap, but because he's such an elusive little bastard. He can come out of nowhere, at any time, at any place. There's no logic to it. You're just humming along, rocking out to some Jason Mraz, and WHAMMO. You're sad. You start thinking about your past, lost relationships, and seemingly empty future. You go from perfectly content to perfectly miserable, all before the light changes at the intersection.

That happened to me today. I got some studying in this morning, had a good lunch at Panera, and then saw Valentine's Day with my sis and a friend. (It was cute. A little too "happily ever after" for my taste, but fun nonetheless.) I hit up the library, and then headed home in beautiful snowfall. Everything was great. Then, BAM. Sad. I don't know why. It wasn't expected, and there was no reason for it. It just hit me.

Jennifer Garner's character in the movie said that Valentine's Day was the single girl's ultimate cosmic bitch slap. That may be so, but Valentine's Day isn't the source of the slap. Sure, it's what you feel whap your face every year on February 14th, but Valentine's Day is just the hand of Sadness. Even though V-day may deliver the blow, Sadness is the impetus behind it. Even more bad news - Sadness has another hand, and that one can slug you any day of the year. Even on Friday, February 12th. The good news? Just because you're in the ring with Sadness, doesn't mean you're down and out.

I know that sometimes we just have to be sad. It's part of grieving and part of growing. But, that doesn't mean we must give into Sadness every time he sneak-attacks. Sometimes, we need to sucker punch Sadness right in the gut. And during those times, life has a funny way of giving us just the tools we need to fight back. Here are the tools life so generously handed me today:

Jen Schefft's Better Single Than Sorry I only have a couple of pages left in this fabulous book, and every page I read just further validates my decision regarding my most recent relationship, and the outcome of all of my failed relationships past. The little bit that I read when I got home absolutely nailed what I was feeling at that moment. It helped me remember what I need from a relationship, and reminded me that I wasn't getting it from the Ex. Not because the Ex is a bad guy, but just because he was a bad fit for me. I deserve to find someone who is truly and effortlessly compatible with me. Not only that, but I know now that he's out there. Suddenly, I didn't miss the Ex so much. Kristen 1, Sadness 0.

Welcome and unexpected Valentine's Greetings. While I was reading BSTS, the doorbell rang. On my front porch was a box from 1-800-Flowers. In it was an adorable tea rose plant, and a box of chocolates. Funny thing about my dad. Occasionally he forgets our birthdays, and he's even forgotten Christmas before, but he NEVER forgets Valentine's Day. All three of his girls get something special on or before the dreaded day. He wants to make sure that, no matter where we are in our relationships (or even if we're not in one at all), he loves us. And so does my nephew. I got an adorable Cookie Monster card from him this evening, too, and he'd even written his own name on it (and his handwriting is improving so much! - He's 3, btw...). He's so excited about V-day, and can't wait to share it with his Mommy, Mimi (Grandma), and Aunt Kristen. I'm pretty damn lucky, and couldn't ask for a better man to celebrate with. Kristen - 2, Sadness - 0.

Finally, the snow. It's B-eautiful. And accumulating fast! Not in an "oh my God, I'm going to be stuck in this house with nothing to eat but stale saltines" way, but in the "snuggle up with the kitty and watch the Opening Ceremonies" type of way. Totally setting the mood for the Olympics, and for a peaceful and productive weekend (remember, I'm studying). It's making me smile. Kristen - 3, Sadness - 0.

Thanks, life, for helping me fight Sadness today. And for giving me the tools I needed to win. Here's hoping that this afternoon will mark the Big S's one and only appearance this weekend...

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Side note - How frickin' awesome is this video? Watch it. Notice the 'stache on Matthew Wilder. And, is that a glittery green thong leotard on that one girl? Wow. Only in the late 70s/early 80s. Gotta love it!

Happy in the Meantime

So, last post was introspective, but a little sad. Noticing that a lot of folks are counting their blessings lately. I mentioned all of the things I have to be happy about, but I thought I'd list them out a little more clearly. It's time to look on the bright side a little more...

1. My family;
2. My super fantastic friends;
3. Music, of course;
4. A job that pays the mortgage and student loans (and buys at least some cute clothes);
5. The fact that I decided, for some eerie reason I can't explain, NOT to buy a 2010 Camry about a month ago;
6. A new season of Toddlers & Tiaras, and LOST;
7. My (500) Days of Summer DVD;
8. Books;
9. Heat;
10. The Rupster;
11. Study guides for the CPA exam;
12. Adderall (also for the CPA exam);
13. Tim's Facebook statuses;
14. Justin the Intern;
15. Intelligence;
16. High heels and ballet flats;
17. 45-minute showers;
18. Naps;
19. Chocolate, Coffee, & Tea;
20. God's grace and forgiveness (and my own).